Railroad car coupler carrier



Dec. 1, 1964 J. L. GIBSON RAILROAD CAR COUPLER CARRIER Filed on. 5, 1959 FIG. I.

1/1 I 1/ II JAMES L. GIBSON A TTOR/VEY United States Patent 3,159,282 RAELRQAD AR CSUPLER CARTER James L. Gibson, Pd). Box 761, Fort Worth, Tex. Filed Get. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 84 5,2593 5 Claims. (Cl. 213-21) This invention relates to draft gear for a railroad cars and has for its primary object the combining of conventional friction type draft gear With hydraulic-pneumatic shock absorbers such as shown and described in my prior patent, No. 2,909,291, issued October 20, 1959. Such combining of shock absorbing mechanisms will result in longer coupler travel with increased cushioning effect, permit limited swivel action of the coupler as provided by a conventional friction type draft gear, and provide independent longitudinal movement of couplers at each end of a railway car. Particularly, the invention is directed to longitudinally movable stub sills or coupler carriers in the ends of railroad car sills for combining the action of conventional draft gear with hydraulic-pneumatic shock absorbing mechanisms.

In the accompanying drawing,

FIGURE 1 is a broken plan view, shown partly in section, of a conventional draft gear and a hydraulicpneumatic shock absorbing mechanism installed in the end of a railroad car sill. 7

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the components illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but showing a vertical longitudinal section thereof, and

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FZGURE 3.

In the drawing, the numeral 10 generally designates a box type railroad car sill, but to those versed in the art it will be obvious that channel type sills may be employed since the same will accommodate the mechanisms herein described. Both the box type sills and the channel type sills provide spaced side walls, not numbered, between which the present invention operates. Within each end of the railroad car sill 10 there is a longitudinally movable box-like stub sill 11, also herein referred to as a coupler carrier, the outer and extending end of which is provided with an open striker plate 12 therearound. The forward or outer end of the stub sill 11 is supported on a transverse roller 13, the ends of which are provided with trunions 14 which are rotatably received in depending ears 15 on the lower side edges of the railroad car sill 10. A transverse slot 16, FIGURE 3, is provided in the bottom of the railroad car sill 10 to accommodate the roller 13. Similarly, there is a longitudinal slot 17 in the bottom of the sill it to accommodate a transverse boss 18 on the bottom of the stub sill 11, and which boss has trunnions 19 on the ends thereof for rotatably supporting rollers 29 which bear against the bottom and sides of the railroad car sill Ill when the stub sill 11 is in its extended position.

As shown in FIGURE 1, there is a hydraulic-pneumatic shock absorbing cylinder 21 mounted between the sides of the sill 10 and has its piston rod 22 extending toward the stub sill 11. The extending end of the piston rod 22 has a U-shaped connector 23, and which connector has opposing horizontal slots 24 therethrough receiving a transverse key 25 which extends through opposite vertical sides of the stub sill 11. The extending ends or lateral projections of the key 25 are slidably received in [longitudinal slots 26 in the sides of the railroad car sill 10, and which longitudinal slots are provided with integral outwardly extending flanges 27 therearound. As shown in FIGURE 2, the extending ends of the key 25 may be provided with rollers 28 for contact with the flanges 27.

Within the outer end of each stub sill 11 there is a conventional friction type draft gear 29 which includes a housing 30, a yoke 31 and vertical pin 32 through the yoke for engaging the inner end of a drawbar 33 of a coupler assembly 34. The inner end of the friction gear housing 30 engages vertical ribs 35in the side walls of the stub sill 11, Whereas the front follower 36 engages vertical ribs 37 in the stub sill near the outer end thereof. fdthough a yoke type friction draft gear is shown inthe drawing, it is to be understood that other friction draft gears may be used and that the same are mounted in the movable stub sill 11 in the same manner they would engage a railroad car sill in conventional practice.

The slidable stub sill 11 makes possible coaction between the hydraulic-pneumatic mechanisms 21 and the friction draft gear 29. In draft, the key 25 is at the outer ends of the sill slots 26, and at which time the friction gear 29 operates in the usual manner. in buff, the key 25 is at the inner ends of slots 26 and at which time the friction gear 29 is capable of its usual buff operation. However, it is to be understood that the hydraulic-pneumatic mechanism 21 and the draft gear 29 are capable of simultaneous action, and that the cou plers 34 at each end of a railroad car are capable of independent operation.

The invention is not limited to the construction herein shown and described, but may be made in various ways within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a railroad car sill having spaced side walls, a longitudinally movable coupler carrier mounted in each end of said railroad car sill between said spaced side walls, each said carrier being of box-like con struction and in sliding contact with opposing vertical surfaces of said side walls, a hydraulic-pneumatic shock absorber carried by said car sill inwardly of each said carrier and in parallel longitudinal alignment therewith, each said shock absorbing mechanism including a piston rod extending to and connected with said coupler carrier, means limiting the longitudinal movement of said piston rod in either direction, lateral projections on said coupler carriers extending into horizontal elongate opposing slots in said side walls, and a draft gear including a coupler in and extending from each said coupler carrier.

2. The construction defined in claim 1, and wherein each said carrier is box-like in transverse cross section and wherein said projections are the extending ends of a key positioned through opposite sides of said carrier.

3. The construction defined in claim 1, and including a roller carried by said sill at the outer end thereof and in rolling contact with the bottom of said carrier, and rollers carried by said carrier in rolling contact with the bottom of said sill.

4. In combination with a railroad car sill having spaced side Walls, a longitudinally movable coupler carrier mounted in each end of said railroad car sill between said spaced side walls, each said carrier being of box-like construction and in sliding contact with opposing vertical sur faces of said side walls, a hydraulic-pneumatic shock absorber carried by said car sill inwardly of each said carrier and in parallel longitudinalalignment therewith, each said shock absorbing mechanism including a piston rod extending to and connected with said coupler carrier, means limiting the longitudinal-movement of said piston rod in either direction, lateral projections on said coupler carriers extending into horizontal elongate opposing slots in said side walls, the ends of said coupler carriers extending outwardly of said railroad car sill and having a striker plate therearound, and a friction type draft gear including a coupler in and extending from each said coupler carrier, each said draft gear having a housing rigidly secured in the said coupler carrier in which it is received.

Similarly,

5. In combination with a railroad car sill having spaced side walls, a longitudinally movable coupler carrier mounted in each end of said railroad car sill between said I spaced side walls, each said carrier being of box-like construction and in sliding contact with opposing vertical 1 surfaces of said side Walls, a hydraulic-pneumatic shock absorber carried by said car sill inwardly of each said coupler carriernand in parallel longitudinal alignment therewith, each said shock absorbing mechanism including a piston'rod extending to and connected with said coupler carrier, means limiting the longitudinal movement of said 7 piston rod in either direction, the ends of each said car'- rier extending outwardly of said railroad car sill andhaving a striker plate theremound, and atransverse key extending through said coupler carrier and the extending end of said piston rod, the extending end of said key 1312- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/16 Kellog et a1. 213 -61 7 1 5/16 Arter 2l343 X 12/16 Camp 213-61 10/28 Couch 213-50.5 9/31 Whittaker 21343 X 8/33 Lorenz et a1. 21312 4/34- Stevens 21343 10/39 Mussey 213-46 X 12/39 Clark 21346 7/58 Spencer 213-43 A 3/61 Szczepanik 213Y73 FOREIGN PATENTS 6/32 Germany. 12/ 62 Great Britain.

LEO QUACKENBUSH, Piimary Examirier 20 JAMES S. SHANK, Examiner. 

5. IN COMBINATION WITH A RAILROAD CAR SILL HAVING SPACED SIDE WALLS, A LONGITUDINALLY MOVABLE COUPLER CARRIER MOUNTED IN EACH END OF SAID RAILROAD CAR SILL BETWEEN SAID SPACED SIDE WALLS, EACH SAID CARRIER BEING OF BOX-LIKE CONSTRUCTION AND IN SLIDING CONTACT WITH OPPOSING VERTICAL SURFACES OF SAID SIDE WALLS, A HYDRAULIC-PNEUMATIC SHOCK ABSORBER CARRIED BY SAID CAR SILL INWARDLY OF EACH SAID COUPLER CARRIER AND IN PARALLEL LONGITUDINAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH, EACH SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISM INCLUDING A PISTON ROD EXTENDING TO AND CONNECTED WITH SAID COUPLER CARRIER, MEANS LIMITING THE LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF SAID PISTON ROD IN EITHER DIRECTION, THE ENDS OF EACH SAID CARRIER EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF SAID RAILROAD CAR SILL AND HAVING A STRIKER PLATE THEREAROUND, AND A TRANSVERSE KEY EXTENDING THROUGH SAID COUPLER CARRIER AND THE EXTENDING END OF SAID PISTON ROD, THE EXTENDING END OF SAID KEY BEING SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN HORIZONTAL ELONGATE SLOTS IN THE SAID SIDE WALLS OF SAID RAILROAD CAR SILL, THE LENGTH OF SAID SLOTS BEING GREATER THAN THE WIDTH OF SAID KEY RECEIVED THEREIN. 